Six summers ago, members of the Oklahoma City Thunder spent a portion of the 2011 NBA lockout together in Lexington, Ky., doing their best to prepare for a 66-game regular season that wouldn’t begin until Christmas. The following June, the Kevin Durant- and Russell Westbrook-led Thunder reached the 2012 NBA Finals, still the only title-round appearance for the franchise since it moved to the Sooner State.
When a large contingent of New Orleans Pelicans players held a similar offseason gathering recently on the campus of the University of Kentucky, it reminded Wildcats Coach John Calipari of OKC’s successful approach.